Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 review
Not much has changed with the Flip's camera system
The Z Flip8 doesn't really bring any hardware upgrades to the camera system. It's a midrange-grade setup - there's a decent main camera on the back joined by a so-so fixed-focus ultrawide, plus a smallish sensor internal selfie camera (also fixed focus). That's pretty much what you'd expect from a Galaxy clamshell.
The main camera is shared with the Z Fold8 (non-Ultra) and it's also what we saw on the vanilla S26. An in-house GN3 sensor with a 1/1.56" optical format (or 1/1.57" depending on the source), a 50MP nominal resolution, and a 1.0µm pixel size is paired with a wide 23mm lens.
For the ultrawide, Samsung chose not to fit one of the Folds' 50MP AF-capable modules and is instead persisting with a fairly ancient conventional RGB 12MP sensor behind a fixed-focus lens. At least it's a very wide lens.
On the inside, there's a 10MP selfie camera that's not too exciting when it comes to specs. Then again, we've seen it punch above its weight, plus will you really use the internal camera for selfies on a Flip?
- Wide (main): 50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN3 (S5KGN3, 1/1.56", 1.0µm-2.0µm); 23mm, f/1.8, OIS, dual-pixel PDAF; 4K60 video recording.
- Ultrawide: 12MP (1/3.2", 1.12µm), f/2.2, 13mm, fixed focus; 4K60.
- Internal camera: 10MP (1/3.52", 1.12µm); 23mm, f/2.2, fixed focus; 4K60.
You also get a well-thought-out cover screen camera interface, where you can switch modes and operate zoom and whatnot. Other form-factor-related modes are also available, with a dedicated UI for waist-level or overhead shooting, plus a camcorder mode for video (with a new zoom rocker implementation).
Daylight photo quality
Main camera
The main camera of the Z Flip8 captures good images in daylight - it's nothing special, but it's no letdown either. Detail is generally very good, though we did occasionally observe seemingly random areas of softness, mostly in vegetation - it shouldn't be motion blur, looking at the shutter speeds, and it doesn't look like those areas are out of focus either. We wouldn't necessarily say it's an issue, though. Of course, you can expect a wide dynamic range and a pleasing color rendition with dependable white balance.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x)
Human subjects are rendered well in Photo mode, with lifelike skin tones and very good facial detail. Portrait mode renditions aren't half bad either.
Human subjects, main camera (1x): Photo mode • Portrait mode
Outdoor shots taken in 50MP just might hold some extra detail, but in dimmer indoor settings things are looking notably softer.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP
2x zoom photos from the main camera are quite good too, with some caveats. Here too, indoor scenes will tend to be less good, and in outdoor scenes we also saw some of that random softness. Overall, though, not too bad.
Daylight samples, main camera (2x)
With the lack of autofocus on the ultrawide, it's the main camera that will be your best bet for close-ups, particularly at 2x zoom, so that you can get the highest subject reproduction. We'd call the results decent, but not exactly exciting.
Closeup samples, main camera (2x)
2x headshots are actually quite good, though - facial detail is alright, the tighter framing makes them look more like 'portraits', and the Portrait mode looks reasonably well too.
Human subjects, main camera (2x): Photo mode • Portrait mode
Ultrawide camera
The ultrawide camera's unassuming hardware produces very good results, all things considered. The one sort of major downside is the fixed focus, which means you'll get blurry shots of nearby subjects, but with more distant subjects you can expect plenty sharp photos. Dynamic range is good, colors are on point.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)
Selfies
The Z Flip8's internal camera captures excellent selfies. Sharp and detailed, they also have wide dynamic range and likeable colors. The one area where this camera falls short is close-ups - its fixed focus means you'd better stick to arm's-length shooting distances in order to have your face in focus.
Selfie samples, internal camera
For vastly better results at close range and improved background separation, you'd be wise to shoot on the main rear camera - it does deliver in those areas, and it's generally better overall. And yes, the Flip is a lot easier to operate for rear-camera selfies than the larger Folds.
Selfie samples, main rear camera (1x)
The ultrawide is also focus-challenged, which is a bummer - its exaggerated perspective would go well with closer subject distance, but as it stands, it's mostly good for including a lot of context and less so for silly angles.
Selfie samples, ultrawide rear camera (0.6x)
Low-light photo quality
Main camera
Low-light photos from the main camera are alright and in line with Samsung's recent processing habits. What we mean by that is liberal amounts of noise and a relative softness to go with the natural detail rendition. Dynamic range is quite excellent, white balance shows no odd tendencies and colors are looking great as well.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x)
If you choose to force Night mode (available through the in-house Camera Assistant add-on) you can expect a bit less noise and heavier sharpening, too heavy sharpening, perhaps. For what it's worth, the Flip's Night mode doesn't suffer from the skewed colors and night sky brightening that we saw on the Folds.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x), Night mode
The full-auto 2x photos are hardly perfect, but we'd say they're actually pretty good for the class. Processing is pretty lax, there's a bit of noise, contrast is on the low side of average and yet as a whole and in context, the photos aren't half bad.
Low-light samples, main camera (2x)
Night mode may improve contrast and sharpness in some scenes, without looking as overdone as it does at 1x. It's probably a good idea to make it a point to shoot in Night mode at 2x.
Low-light samples, main camera (2x), Night mode
Ultrawide camera
The ultrawide's low-light shots are quite unremarkable, being just generally soft and noisy, and somewhat washed out.
Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)
Night mode livens things up considerably, improving contrast and saturation, but also sharpness. Again, you should probably do the extra steps and get Night mode going on the Flip.
Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x), Night mode
Photo quality verdict
Samsung isn't really making any major strides in the Flip's stills camera performance - any strides whatsoever, actually. The Z Flip8 takes decent photos in most conditions, without really striving for anything beyond good enough. You can expect solid performance during the day throughout the zoom range, and the low-light results, while not exactly convincing, are also decent, particularly if you play around with Night mode. Rear camera selfies are great as expected, as are the internal camera selfies.
Video quality
The Z Flip8 has most of the video features you can expect from a high-end Galaxy these days, but it's still a few things short of the Folds' all-out spec. What you'll be missing on the Flip is 8K resolution, framerates above 60fps (100 and 120fps are available on the Fold8s and the S26 Ultra), and the APV codec (the Samsung-developed pro-level one), but the rest is still here.
In the regular Video mode, the phone can record up to 4K60 with all three cameras, and the Pro video mode unlocks 24, 25, 48, and 50fps options as well. The out-of-the-box setting for the video codec is h.265 (HEVC), but you can opt for the older and less efficient h.264 codec.
There's an option for 10-bit HDR10+ recording, as well as a Log option that can be enabled for both Pro video and regular Video mode, complete with a selection of pre-loaded LUTs. In Pro mode you also get finer control over focus and exposure (complete with zebras and false color aids), plus mic directionality settings and audio level indicators.
Video stabilization is available in all modes on all cameras, and you can disable it in settings if you have other ideas on how to stabilize your footage. Horizon lock mode is available too, and Samsung thinks it pairs well with using the Flip in 'Camcorder mode' - the handset half folded and held like a 90s camcorder. Speaking of camcorder mode, when you're in that mode, you can now switch the regular zoom control to a zoom rocker and get sort of smooth zoom action.
You can hit '> play' below and use the '>| next' button to advance through the playlist of all video samples, or you can watch the full playlist on YouTube.
Main camera 4K clips in daylight are pretty great. Sharpness is very good, dynamic range is excellent, colors are hard to fault (might be a little warm-ish leaning, but in a good way?). 2x footage is fairly okay too. The ultrawide's results are quite close in their overall presentation to the main camera's clips, and they're alright on a pixel level - not the sharpest around, but not too bad either.
Video screengrabs, daylight: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
At night, the phone exposes brightly, which is a good thing, we reckon - it does mean blown highlights but it also means a generally likeable image where you don't have to squint to see in the shadows. Sharpness is decent, colors are good. The ultrawide's footage also adheres to the same exposure principles, but it's softer than we'd like - usable, perhaps, but barely.
Video screengrabs, low light: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
Stabilization is very good on the Z Flip8. Both rear cameras produce nicely stable footage when just pointed in one direction and they also pan smoothly. The phone does well to compensate for walking shake too, no complaints.
Video quality verdict
The Z Flip8 is a decently well-equipped camcorder - it does have camcorder mode, of course, but gimmicks aside, it can do 4K60 with all cameras and has most of the advanced functionality of the higher-tier models (no APV codec, and no 4K120 or 8K30 though). The final video quality comes with no major drawbacks and you can expect very good main camera and ultrawide clips in daylight and good 1x clips at night, all of those being quite well stabilized.
